《远大前程》第2章 抓住一名罪犯(1)

2 Catching a convict
　　All that morning I was frightened that my sister would discover that I had stolen from her，but luckily she was so busy cleaning the house，and roasting the chickens for our Christmas lunch that she did not notice that I had been out，or that any food was missing．At half-past one our two guests arrived．Mr Wopsle had a large nose and a shining，bald forehead，and was the church clerk．Mr Pumblechook， who had a shop in the nearest town，was a fat，middle-aged man witn a mouth like a fish，and staring eyes．He was really Joe's uncle but it was Mrs Joe who called him uncle．Every Christmas Day he arrived with two bottles of wine，handing them proudly to my sister．
　　‘Oh Uncle Pumblechook！This is kind！'she always replied．
　　‘It's no more than you deserve，’was the answer every time．
Sitting at table with these guests I would have felt uncomfortable even if I hadn't robbed my sister．Not only was Pumblechook's elbow in my eye，but I wasn't allowed to speak，and they gave me the worst pieces of meat．Even the chickens must have been ashamed of those parts of their bodies when they were alive．And worse than that，the adults never left me in peace．
2 抓住一名罪犯
　　一上午，我一直害怕姐姐会发现我偷了她的东西，但是，幸运的是她只顾忙于打扫房间，为我们的圣诞节午饭准备烤鸡，并没有注意我出过门，也没发现少了任何吃的东西。1点半钟，我们的两位客人到了。伍甫赛先生的鼻子很大，秃顶的额头闪闪发光，他是教堂里的办事员。潘波趣先生，他在最近的镇上有一个商店，是一个长得体胖腰圆的中年人，有一副像鱼的嘴脸，贼溜溜的眼睛，他是乔的亲舅舅，可是乔夫人却喊他舅舅。每年圣诞节，他都带两瓶葡萄酒来送给我姐姐，以显示他的阔气。
　　“噢，潘波趣舅舅您真是个好心人！”她总是这样说。
　　“这是一点小意思，”每一次都是这种回答。
　　和这些客人们围桌而坐，即使我没偷姐姐的东西，我的心情也不好受，不但潘波趣和我近在咫尺，而且不允许我说话，他们给我的是最不好的一块肉，甚至给的鸡块也是它们活着的时候身体最害臊的那部分。比这更坏的是大人们总是打搅我。